The new era of mHealth

We are living in an era where ever-growing numbers of industries are using technology in their work, and the healthcare sector is also adopting this. The rapid growth of a variety of new technologies is making a huge influence on healthcare.

What is mhealth?

Just like other buzzwords mHealth has a different meaning for different people. There is no one definition of mHealth that is accepted universally. mHealth is an abbreviation for mobile health, the term describes mobile technologies designed to assist in delivering quality healthcare. It is predicted to get a lot of momentum in the coming years. mHealth can be used as a part of public health education, to control disease, to provide treatment, to manage health outcomes.

According to experts, mHealth can improve communication between patients and physicians. It empowers patients to take ownership of their health (as it makes remote monitoring possible when patients are not able to visit hospitals). Under mHealth's umbrella, there are various applications available such as data analysis, prescriptions, and management of medications that are being used already. Besides, mHealth is used for storing patient's data, emergency response, prescription management, connection with patients through wearable devices. mHealth is becoming an integral part of any practice management platform.

How mobile technology is employed by medical professionals?

According to Skycure, four out of five doctors use their mobile devices to assist with their day-to-day work. Another survey revealed that 93% of health care providers accept that access to mobile health app offers them to provide top-quality care to their patients.

Following applications are used in this technology:

Trends that are getting popular in mHealth

One of the most popular trends now is remote patient monitoring. It includes a device that monitor's patient health and sends that information to the doctor electronically. Wearable devices to access physical activity, diet and sleep are already being used by many users. Real-time data is shared with doctors through these devices.

Healthcare apps are undoubtedly becoming a visible part of mainstream health IT functions. Now an increasing number of tablets and smart devices are used as a medical instrument such as for glucose reading, medication information, and medical graphics.

Medical professionals are now immensely using mobile devices as part of their work to store the patient's record and to provide quality healthcare. Let's have a look at the following statistics:-

Market Growth

Several mHealth apps are available in the market and have enhanced immensely. Now there are over 318,000 health apps available on app stores worldwide, and it is nearly double the number of apps, that were available in 2015. Roughly more than 200 apps are being added daily.

The major factor driving the growth of the mHealth apps market is the acceptance of smart devices and constant heavy investment into the smart health market.

Consumer's point of view

According to recent research of Accenture, health care consumers are now showing strong use of digital technology, this number is rising every year. In a survey, 75% of consumers said that technology is very useful to manage their health. Also, this research shows increases across the board use of smartphones, gadgets, electronic health records, wearables, and online community.

How mHealth can improve your health?

Other benefits:

The mobile healthcare industry is going to boom in times ahead. Just like new technologies are emerging, the healthcare sector is getting more and more flexible using these technologies. There are not only positive aspects for patients but also healthcare providers too. These tools have bridged the communication gap between patients and physicians, bringing healthcare to homes, schools and offices and improved access for millions of users.